Spook Houses – Living The Dream [Ridgewood, US]

Scroll through the photos of Spook Houses‘ Facebook page and you see warm, slightly fuzzy photos of friends gathering, be it at a show, in somebody’s room, or the floor of some house that looks like anybody and everybody’s house. It’s that feeling of familiarity that I heavily associate with the lo-fi production of indie rock staples such as Neutral Milk Hotel, The Microphones and Modest Mouse, and now this half of a new split 7″ with Fat History Month (released digitally and physically August 27th), Living the Dream. Distortion acts as this blanket wrapping up stammering guitars and floating synths, all coming together to play like a track that’s been in your vinyl collection for years but with the same excitement of hearing it for the first time. That’s a horrible cliché, but that’s okay. If these guys have taught me anything, it’s that you don’t have to innovate to move people–taking what’s been done before and making it your own, making it feel like home, is more than enough.

Try out 2012’s excellent Trying on their bandcamp, and info regarding the new 7″ can be found here.